Operation Christmas Child

Operation Christmas Child appeal each Christmas time, has a special place in my heart and in our household.  You may also know it as 'the shoebox appeal'.

A few years ago during one of my visits to Uganda, one of the older boys (9years old-ish) was walking around wearing gloves.  Proper woolly gloves for winter.  I was really confused as to why he had them on all. the. time?  They were black in colour and had the grips on the palms.  He was so proud of them.  In the hot Ugandan sun, during a trip to the pool that we had fundraised for, he still walked around wearing his gloves.  I took the opportunity to go sit with him at one point in the day and ask about his gloves.  As I asked his face lit up.  He beamed with joy.  He was so so so happy.  Then he explained......

'They were in my box Auntie.  I had lots of gifts in my box but these are my favourite.  They are like footbool goalie gloves and this part (pointing to the grips) help me with my football skills.  Now all the boys say I am the best goalie. I love them and the boxes.  I hope I get one next year Auntie.  They bless us so much.'

Such a small gift from our part and yet it meant so much to this young boy who had very few posessions in life.  For him, the arrival of this box meant that someone, somewhere, cared.  They cared enough to lovingly pack this box and put in, along with other things, those very special 'football' gloves. 

This year, we were able to take part in operation Christmas child again.  Lutaaya loves packing the boxes as she knows that very possibly, her friends back in Uganda will be receiving them.  She took so much time and effort in picking out the gifts to fill the boxes and them put them all together. 

We spent an evening packing our boxes.  We decided on one for a boy and one for a girl.  We love picking out things for the older age catergory as we know all too well, that they are the children often overlooked and forgotten about, when babies and toddlers steal the limelight. 

So if you are looking for a special thing to do this year, I would encourage you to also support Operation Christmas child.  All you need is a shoebox then fill it with gifts that a child would appreciate this Christmas.  You can find out all the details here and then get packing.  If you're local to me, give me a shout and we can tell you where to get your box too as many local schools are collecting for the next few weeks.

What are you waiting for?  You can put a smile on a vulnerable child's face this Christmas!

Dreaming BIG!!!!

I was going to title this blog 'No Opportunities in the Valleys' but it didn't reflect the hope and optimism I wanted this post to entail!  So here goes.....

In the past few weeks a new TV series has started called ‘The Valleys’.  It’s a reality show that expects to give some young adults, from the South Wales valley areas, new opportunities by offering them work in the city.  I tuned in for the first episode and then deleted it off my series link as it frustrated me so much.

The young adults were all referring to the city as this place where the pavements are paved with gold and making it sound as if it were the other side of the world.  In reality, the city is a maximum of a 40 minute drive from any of their home towns!  

They continued, throughout the whole of the episode, to state that there are no opportunities in the valleys!

It annoyed me so much.  There are plenty of opportunities here if you look for them and go out and find them!  With the city being a 40 minute drive away, further opportunities are in our midst if we want them badly enough.  Why did these people need to rely on this TV programme to create their futures?  Why could they not get up and create the opportunities they wanted to experience for themselves?  

The benefits system in this country drives me crazy on times!  I appreciate we need it for the hard times, but to hear of people aged 25+ who have never worked since leaving school, and don’t intend to work because they rely on these hand outs infuriates me.  Surely this system should be there in cases of emergencies?  Fair enough to those who suddenly find themselves out of work through no fault of their own, support them while they find a new vacancy.  But for the people who depend on the systems, and manage to holiday every year, drive a nice car, etc.  Is this a fair society? 

Benefits should be a short term fix and should not provide for life’s luxuries, after all, what’s the point of working if they do?  When you hear of families who get hundreds of ££££’s going into their house each week/month and their children still have inadequate clothing or no beds, then there is something wrong with that system!  Something needs to change!  

As for anyone thinking there are no opportunities in the valleys, why not book a trip to Africa?  Take a look at the prospects most children living in a third world country have and then grumble about not having opportunities!  

You see, on each trip I’ve made to Uganda, not once has anyone ever said to me that they lack opportunities.  When you meet orphaned children, village children or former street children, they don’t dwell on the negatives in their lives but they hope for the future.  They want to reach their potential. 

Even when there are no school fees, they dream of becoming doctors, nurses, social workers, dentists, lawyers…….  They all hope to gain enough sponsorship to attend college or university.  And even when that dream falters and sponsors are lost or placements break down, they still have hope.  They dream of a better tomorrow.  They dream of families to call their own, for a job that will provide for their futures, of having a nice home and to provide for themselves.   They don’t want to survive on handouts, so why should we?  

Future doctors, nurses, lawyers, etc

I remember during my first visit to Uganda, we visited a slum.  I had never been to a place like this before and nothing could prepare you for the sights and smells.  Unbelievably, the group organiser bumped into a young man who had been a former child in the care of the orphanage.  A little piece of my heart broke that day, seeing this young man back in the slums.  It made me realise that after care support is just as important as the support during care.  He had been a street child, then institutionalised in an orphanage and all for what?  Sponsorship programmes had gained him nothing, other than returning him to the slums!  Then I realised I had measured his success by my own value base.  He was so proud to see us visit the area he now called home.  More than that he was so proud to show us that he had a place to call his own.  It was nothing more than a tin hut, but it was his.  He had paid for every inch of it, with money he had earned from being a barber in the slum area.  

Outskirts of the slums

During a visit in 2010 we stayed in a beautiful hotel for a few nights, having a little bit of a holiday during our time in Uganda.  The pastor we partner with asked if he could bring two of his daughters to see our hotel room.  I didn’t know what to say.  I had no reason to stop them but I thought it was a little cruel showing them such luxury for them to return to their hard beds later that night.  Here was this family, living in relative luxury in a mountain village by the fact they had concrete flooring and electricity, to bring them to by Ugandan standards a hotel that was a 5* hotel, I couldn’t see the logic.  I asked him what he hoped to gain by bringing them here.  His reply – ‘I want to show them what they can aim for in life.  I want them to dream big.’  

5* luxury in Mbale hotel

Our little visitors to our hotel for a day by the pool

Enjoying the poolside fun

I want that attitude in all I do.  I want to dream big!  And when times are hard or life gets me down, I want to dream bigger!  

I can't wait to see what BIG dreams these kiddies turn into reality

Such sweet hearts :)

We need to become a nation of dreamers.  We need everyone to dream big!

A Happy Day

We are so thankful that this week we shared in the news that one of Lutaaya’s friend’s from her former home can also now refer to it as her former home too.  She was finally united with her forever family.  

They are currently in Uganda awaiting her Visa so they can travel home to America.  Please keep them in your prayers as they adjust to their new family set up and go through all the trials and challenges that waiting for a Visa  in country brings. We need this precious girly home as soon as possible so she can begin her new life and thrive.

Please also remember those children who have again watched one of their friend’s leave institutional care, while they remain there.  Another loss in their young lives, another grief to experience and another set of questions as to why not them?  Let’s work together and give these children hope that they can be resettled, fostered or adopted, whichever is the best option for each of them. 

Our girls November 2010

Every child deserves a family to call their own, whether that be birth family, in country or internationally, regardless of culture or colour.  Let’s give these children what they deserve – a place to call home, settled with their forever family.

Children's Rights

In my job we very often delve into children’s rights and discuss how with those rights the children themselves have responsibilities.  We look at everything from the basics of life, nutrition, education, right through to having the right of their own opinion.  Understandably, when you work with young people, we have to emphasise that this does not mean having their own way all the time, or that their opinion is always right, but we talk about the responsibility attached to this.  We talk about the fact that with this right, comes the responsibility to accept other people’s opinions, even when they differ to our own and that sometimes we have to agree to disagree.

UNICEF says that, ‘In 1989, governments worldwide promised all children the same rights by adopting the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. These rights are based on what a child needs to survive, grow, participate and fulfil their potential. They apply equally to every child, regardless of who they are, or where they are from.  Every day these rights are denied. Millions of children are dying from preventable diseases. Millions more don’t go to school, or have food, shelter and clean water. Children are subjected to violence, abuse and discrimination, and go unheard. This is wrong.’

Children in the UK don’t always know of their rights or have the abilities or support in standing up for them.  It saddens me more, when children in places such as Uganda, the children I know personally, become the children mentioned in UNICEF’s statement.

UNICEF says –
‘Every child has the right to a voice on matters that affect them and to have their views taken seriously – in accordance with their age and maturity.’

And yet, there are children I know this week, that have been beaten for speaking out and having an opinion.

Children who have been threatened that they will end up in a Ugandan detention centre or beaten by the police if they step out of line.  Children who are being failed by the adults who care for them and the organisation that oversees that care.

Children who are forgotten.

Children who are neglected of their rights.

Children living in fear, right now! And it’s unbearable to imagine!  

When we meet these children and they touch our life journeys, you cannot then forget that these children are as much a part of society as me or you.  You cannot close the door and forget that tonight; they go to bed wondering if they will be forced to leave the orphanage they call home. 

You cannot imagine the fear they live by each day.  You cannot stop but think are they better off where they are, or would they be safer if they were on the streets?  You cannot help but feel helpless in amongst this terrible situation.

But we do care, and we will see that these voiceless children have their views heard.  They will be a part of the decision making process of matters that affect their lives, as they should be.  We will continue to advocate for them and pray for them.  We will guide them, love them and care for them, even when we are miles apart.  We will continue to resettle, foster and adopt so that these children have the right to a family and a safe environment to grow and thrive in.

Will you stand with me, or will you stand with the abusers and keep institutions like this alive and active?

 “The day of the Lord is near for all nations.  Edom, you will be treated as you have treated others.  You will get back what you have given.”

Obadiah 1:15

“Look!  I am coming soon, and my reward is with me to pay each one according to what he has done!”

Revelation 22:12

“And the king will answer them, ‘I tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me.’”

Matthew 25:40

Visiting the BIG City - London!

This summer we ventured to the bright lights of London.  Lutaaya hasn't been to London since being home and it was somewhere I wanted her to see.  This year, London has been in the media a lot, with the Queen's Jubilee and the Olympics, it seemed this was the right time to visit.

So, we ventured on the 3 hour drive to London.  My parents came along too.  We packed the car and booked in a hotel for a long weekend stay.

Here are some of our photos that really sum up our time in London - -

Lutaaya got to ride the underground for the first time

We had tickets to see The Lion King Musical, which was a blast

Do-nuts in the hotel room as a night time feast

We found lots of WEnlocks scattered about after the Olympics so snapped as many as we could

Open top bus tour of London - Granddad and his girl

Look closely and you'll see a little piece of Uganda

Lutaaya was pleased to see the Ugandan flag flying proudly at Uganda House, Trafalgar Square

We even caught up with Royalty - what an amazing Lego creation at Hamley's

We saw all the sights

And watched the changing of Guard at Buckingham Palace

Harrods Bear

Notice my little shopaholic's bag?  Yes she bought a treat at Harrods

Beefeater Wenlock

And we took the scenic route home to drive by the Olympic Village

An amazing, but very tiring adventure to London.

New Start - New School

This week has seen a big transition for us as Lutaaya has started secondary school.

Yes my girly is in comp!

I haven't been anxious about her starting secondary school.  We've been caught up in the excitement of new uniform, new equipment, new lessons, new friends.  I guess we've dealt with lots of changes in the past two years, that starting comp is something we can deal with. 

So her bag was packed and off she went to start her new school.

She's had her first week there and has LOVED it!  She's accessing a small group for her lessons and all I can say is she has talked more about the last four days than anything I heard about Primary!

We couldn't ask for any better.  She is coping with lunch times and walking to and from school with friends.  She has coped with finding her way in a big building and loves how the day is split into several different lessons.  She has recalled everything she has learned in each lesson and has really found her feet.  Her confidence is flowing and she hasn't stopped smiling since Tuesday.

So thankful that this is such a positive transition for Lutaaya.  I'm a proud Mam, to a little girl who has been able to take so much in her stride and make the best out of every situation.

Long hair!

Lutaaya has said for a long time that she wanted her hair to grow.  We have had lots of talks about African hair not growing so much and it taking a long time to grow as it's so curly.  She accepted this and we've been through many different styles with her hair growing a few inches since her coming home.

Going to comprehensive school is a big deal in itself and we talked about maybe going to a salon and getting her hair done ready for this big move.  Lutaaya got excited, so it became a plan of the summer holidays while we were both off.

Lutaaya initially likes the idea of having a weave, but the hairdresser told us she may be a little young to manage this and advised us to have braids.  Lutaaya spent a long time looking through the har magazines before deciding on what she would like her new hair to look like.

We made the appointment and got ready for a day of braiding.

I have never seen Lutaaya so quiet and so still.

She had to sit for six hours while they braided her hair - yes you read that right - 6 HOURS!!!! 

We were prepared and took snacks and activities, but she only snacked a little and didn't look for entertainment.  She simply watched every movement the hairdresser made.

End result was welcomed with a big smile - she loved it.

And for those of you who haven't caught sight of my girly's new hair - here are the photos!